Unexpected Lesson

Unknown Indian Artist after Michelangelo, Pietà,

c. 1990, cement and stucco (?),

Kumily, India,

Photo: ArtWithHillary

Certain images are embedded in the western visual vocabulary. These representations have been looked at, venerated, worshipped, studied and copied. They are the models or archetypes for all portrayals of the subject depicted. Leonardo’s Last Supper (Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy) is an example as well as Picasso’s Guernica (Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain) and Michelangelo’s Pietà (St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, Italy) .

Michelangelo Buonarroti, Pietà, 1498-1499,

marble, 68.5 x 76.8 in. (174 x 195 cm),

St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, Italy,

Photo: Scala Archives

With many levels of meaning and the ability to illicit emotions not normally associated with inanimate objects, these artworks may become the focus of personal or public acts. A case in point was the brutal attack on Michelangelo’s Pietà in 1972 when a mentally disturbed man hammered away at the sculpture yelling, “I am Jesus Christ - risen from the dead”. Another instance occurred in 1974 when a man protesting a political action concerning the Vietnamese My Lai massacre, wrote “KILL LIES ALL” on the surface of Picasso’s Guernica.

As a consequence of the impact and fame of these iconic images, even a poorly conceived replica of one can convey some of the original’s attributes and meanings. The inept copy may draw attention to what made the master work great and lead to a renewed appreciation of the source. The imitation can refresh memories and help viewers look anew at something that had become all too familiar.

I was reminded of this while driving through Kumily, a small city nestled in the Western Ghats mountains in the South India state of Kerala. With a population of approximately 5,000, Kumily is more village than city.

Kumily, India, Center of Town,

Photo: Google Images

At its center, the narrow main road splits in two creating a triangular space which is dominated by a larger-than-life copy of Michelangelo’s Pietà.

Unknown Indian Artist after Michelangelo, Pietà,

c. 1990, cement and stucco (?),

Kumily, India,

Photo: Google Images

The Kumily sculpture is set before a huge crucifix draped with a shroud-like cloth. Thus, the crucifix and cloth explain the Madonna’s lament.

Although Kumily has three churches, it is still quite astonishing to find such a prominent Christian image in a predominately Hindu country.

What did the Indian artist make of Michelangelo’s Pietà? The Kumily work is close enough to the original to be recognizable as a copy. It is not, however, a quote. The Indian artist did not grasp Michelangelo’s achievement. The Italian master created an image where a supine grown man fits naturally on the lap of of a women. He did this by enlarging the Madonna’s thighs and drapery in such a way that her proportions appear normal. Spectators are unaware of anatomical distortions. In this small South India city’s Pietà , the Christ figure barely is contained by the Virgin Mary. Although Mary is too large in relation to the size of her adult son, it looks as if Christ may slide off his Mother’s lap at any moment.

This pitiful imitation made me think about Michelangelo’s renowned Pietà and revived my understanding of and respect for this outstanding work of art. Such is the benefits that may come from bad art.

Note: Dangerous traffic patterns (as anyone who has been to India knows) prevented my stopping for a longer look at the Kumily Pietà. A quick hop in and out of my car enabled one photo. Please excuse the quality.

More on Velázquez

Attributed to Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez,

The Education of the Virgin,

c. 1617-18, oil on canvas, 66 1/8 x 53 9/16 in. (168 x 136 cm),

Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven

The Education of the Virgin, a painting recently attributed to Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez, will go on view December 9 at the Yale University Art Gallery. The work was given to the Gallery in 1925 along with other Spanish paintings. In poor condition, it remained out-of-view all these years.

In 2002, Laurence Kanter, Curator of European Art, was surveying the Gallery’s storage area and noted the remarkable quality of the painting. It was identified as the work of an unknown seventeenth-century Seville artist. He earmarked it for restoration. Two years later, the painting caught the eye of John Marciari, Curator of European Art and Head of Provenance Research at the San Diego Museum of Art, who was working with Kanter. At the time Marciari was the Nina and Lee Griggs Associate Curator of Early European Art at the Yale University Art Gallery. By 2005, Marciari was convinced The Education of the Virgin was the work of Velázquez. Thus begun some five years of extensive research and analysis.

This past summer, news broke that the painting had been attributed to Velázquez. Marciari published his findings in the 2010 July-September issue of Ars Magazine. His article delivers cogent arguments in favor of the attribution. If it is by the Spanish master, it would be one of the artist’s earliest works in extant and, of course, enormously valuable.

Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez, The Luncheon, c. 1617,

oil on canvas, 42.7 x 40.6 in. (108.5 x 102 cm),

Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Marciari links the painting stylistically to Velázquez’s The Luncheon, c. 1617, in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia . He notes similarities in such elements as the way the figures emerge from the dark background, the handling of drapery and still-life depictions. Technical research revealed that the Yale work was mounted like other early paintings by the master.

Although there is loss in size and paint, remarkable passages remain. You have the opportunity to see it as is until February 20. Go take a look and form your own opinion. The jury is still out.

The Education of the Virgin, attributed to Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez, will be on view at the Yale University Art Gallery from December 9, 2010 through February 20, 2011.

Yale University Art Gallery

1111 Chapel Street (at York Street)

Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am - 5:oo pm

Thursday until 8:00 am (September - June)

Sunday 1:00 - 6:00 pm

Closed Mondays and major holidays

Free and Open to the Public

A Velázquez Portrait Dazzles Once More

Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez, King Philip IV of Spain,

1644, oil on canvas, 51 1/8 x 39 1/8 in. (129.8575 x 99.3775 cm),

The Frick Collection, New York

Photo: Michael Bodycomb

The Frick Collection’s portrait, King Philip IV of Spain by Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez, is resplendent after having undergone a much needed cleaning. Over sixty years had passed since the work’s last major treatment. Although always in good condition, the old varnish had darkened and discolored making the image appear dull and flat. Details were obscured and the painter’s dynamic brush technique was no longer apparent. In the summer of 2009, the painting was sent to The Metropolitan Museum of New York where Michael Gallagher, Sherman Fairchild Conservator in Charge of Paintings Conservation, examined, cleaned and revarnished it. Close study confirmed that changes to the final composition and alterations of the work’s size had occurred.

While this took place, new research by Pablo Pérez d’Ors, former Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow at The Frick Museum, uncovered the painting’s complex history and unusual circumstances of use. His findings were published in The Burlington Magazine (October 2010, No. 1291 Vol. CLII) in an article co-authored by Michael Gallagher.

The results of all this is the subject of The Frick Collection’s exhibition, The King at War: Velázquez's Portrait of Philip IV. The painting is superbly installed in the center of the Oval Room facing the Garden Court. There is no glass covering the canvas.

Looking at the painting, the first element that stands out is the vibrant crimson of the King’s costume and the way Velázquez’s colors describe a variety of materials. The fluffy red feather of the Monarch’s hat is clearly differentiated from the red brocade jacket. Shades of grey render silver embroidery as well as the metal hilt of the sword and baton. White denotes sleeves, buttons, collar. Beiges and lavenders enliven the whites. Brushstrokes are vibrant and exciting. Paint is laid thinly here and thickly there. Always associated with a free, audacious technique, Velázquez’s brushstrokes here are even looser and appear to be laid down quickly and confidently.

Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez,
Detail of King Philip IV of Spain

Revisions and exhilarating dabs and dashes of paint reveal the artist’s creative process and produce a feeling of intimacy between the viewer and the painting. Such closeness to the painter’s mind is more typically associated with drawings. We discern how the King’s hat was lowered along with his left hand and sleeve. The sword was moved toward the bottom and the sash hanging from it narrowed. In addition, the flare on the right side of the King’s coat was covered by background paint while the garment’s left side was broadened. The compositional changes enhanced the iconic quality to the image.

Historically, royal portraits were an important form of public relations. They were the only way the public would have knowledge of their King. Few people had access to him - his family and a limited group of courtiers. In the case of this portrait, contemporary diarists recorded its popularity and subsequently the image was reproduced. Since a little over an inch had been removed from the canvas’s bottom, we know about the missing fringe from the King’s knee-high boots through an extant seventeenth-century copy.

This was a special painting with a political purpose. It was created for a specific function as a stand-in for the King at an important church celebration that took place in Madrid. In 1640, the Catalonia region of Spain had rebelled against the Monarch and sided with France. The King sent troops to regain the territory in 1643. A year later, Philip decided to rally his men at the frontline and moved his court there - some five hundred people. As victory approached and was certain, a major religious celebration was planned in Madrid. It would take place before the King returned since he needed to stay in Catalonia for the surrender. Velázquez, the court painter, had accompanied the Monarch to the front. A small temporary studio was hastily devised for his use; the portrait had to be ready for the upcoming Madrid celebration. Velázquez was surely under pressure to complete the work. Indeed, documents reported the King sat for only three sittings.

The painting was completed in time, sent to Madrid and installed under a gold-embroidered canopy in the church where the victory festivity took place. During the ceremony, a sermon given by the Monarch’s preacher, explained the painting’s meaning. The Monarch is not portrayed in the typical somber, black clothes of the Spanish court. He wears his military uniform as his troops would have seen him. This bright red costume decorated with silver would have been easily recognizable, standing out and glittering in the sun. The King is not portrayed as a stern, powerful commander-in-chief or a triumphant victor. He is seen as a loving, forgiving father whose victory was directed by divine intervention. Since the conflict had pitted countrymen against countrymen, Philip IV did not want to punish his rebellious subjects but bring them back to his fold in peace. It is a remarkable painting.

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes,

Regozijo (Mirth), (Album D. 4),

c. 1816-20,brush and ink and wash and chalk,

9 3/8 x 5 13/16 in. (23.8 x 14.8 cm),

Courtesy of The Hispanic Society of America, New York

The Frick’s other exhibition, The Spanish Manner: Drawings from Ribera to Goya, is also noteworthy. This is the first Spanish old master drawing show to take place in New York although New York’s collections are second only to those of Madrid. Why did we wait so long? The works on view are of the highest quality. There are twenty-two sheets by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes as well as over thirty drawings by Jusepe de Ribera, Bartolomé Estaban Murillo and other artists both familiar and unfamiliar. Besides The Frick’s own holdings, there are significant loans from The Hispanic Society of America, The Morgan Library & Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and other institutions. The draftsmanship is extraordinary and the show makes a good case for a distinct Spanish drawing style.

The King at War: Velázquez's Portrait of Philip IV


Through January 23, 2011

The Spanish Manner: Drawings from Ribera to Goya

Through January 10, 2011

The Frick Collection

1 East 70th Street, Manhattan

10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday through Saturday

11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sundays

Closed Mondays and holidays

Connections: Paths Taken

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 
Christ on the Cross, c. 1665–70,


pen and ink with wash over chalk,
 13.2 x 9.3 in. (33.5 x 23.6 cm)

Princeton University Art Museum, Museum Purchase,

Laura P. Hall Memorial Fund

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s drawing, Christ on the Cross is on view in The Frick Collection’s exhibition The Spanish Manner: Drawings from Ribera to Goya. There will be more about this noteworthy show at a later date. This poignant Murillo drawing attracted my attention. The figure of Christ combined piousness with with a figurative realism I did not normally associate with Murillo. For the record, I am not a big fan of the artist. I usually find his work cloying, overly sweet and precious. Give me other seventeenth-century Spaniards: Ribera’s earthiness, Zurbarán’s mysticism, above all, Velázquez ‘s brilliance. The Murillo drawing, however, prompted me to reconsider the painter. To begin, I went to The Metropolitan Museum to see Murillo’s small painting, The Crucifixion. It is quite a wonderful painting of a powerful figure of Christ. I thought I could live with this work and enjoy it thoroughly.

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo,
 The Crucifixion,

c. 1670-72, oil on canvas,
 20 x 13 in. (50.8 x 33 cm),


The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,

Bequest of Harry G. Sperling, 1971

The painting and drawing have similarities. I do not imply that there is a direct connection. The drawing is not thought to be a preparatory study. Yet, resemblances do exits. Both, of course, depict a man crucified. A figure depicted on a cross, however, can be rendered in many ways - for example, the torso may turn toward the right or left; the legs may appear closer or further apart. Here, the position of the legs were alike: right knees slightly above left ones. Each of the Christ figures have a robust torso that twists a bit to the left. In both, as touch of realism, a wooden wedge is struck into the ground to support the upright of the cross. Furthermore, drawing and painting have a mediative, other-worldly quality that I found quite appealing.

The Metropolitan Museum’s explanatory label informs that the work may relate to a larger Crucifixion in Madrid’s Prado Museum. An online digital image provided me with satisfaction.

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 
Christ on the Cross,

c. 1675-1680, oil on canvas, c. 1675 x 27.9 in (54 x 71 cm),

Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

The Prado’s Christ’s legs look like they are in the same position as those in the other two works but the figure here is slender. The torso curves a bit to the right. There is no supporting wooden block for the cross. On the ground is a skull like the one in the drawing. As for The Metropolitan Museum Crucifixion, the darkened paint made deciphering foreground imagery impossible.

More comparisons can me made. The Metropolitan painting has Jerusalem in the background while the drawing shows no city. The image quality of the Prado Crucifixion prevented detailed examination. You reader may look and make your own observations. For now, I move on to another connection which interested me.

The Metropolitan Museum note explains that the Murillo painting may have been owned by Sebastián Martínez y Pérez, a renowned eighteenth-century art collector and a friend of the illustrious painter, Francisco de Goya y Lucientes. Goya painted Sebastián’s portrait in 1792 and the portrait is owned by the museum and on view two galleries away.

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, 
Sebastián Martínez y Pérez, 1792,

oil on canvas, 36 5/8 x 26 5/8 in. (93 x 67.6 cm),


The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
 Rogers Fund, 1906

It is a superb portrait of man I immediately took a liking to. We both appreciated the same Murillo painting.

What is all the above about? A drawing by one artist led to one of the artist’s paintings which resulted in a look at another of the same artist’s paintings and then to a portrait from another century by different painter. All four works connected in some way which resulted in different paths of exploration. New roads were taken.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Robert Frost
The Road Not Taken
(First Publication date: 1916)

An Art Rich Fall in New York

Dancing Ganesh, Pala Period, 9th - 10th century, Nepal,
blackstone, height: 18.75 in. (47.6 cm),
Doris Wiener Gallery

New York in the fall becomes a cornucopia of tempting artistic works. Fashion Week started on September 9th; the New York City Ballet begins on the 14th; the New York Philharmonic on the 22nd; the Metropolitan Opera on September 27th; Carnegie Hall opens on the 29th.

The city’s major museums have their fall exhibition line up. Hundreds of art galleries present new shows. The Asian Art Dealers New York (AADNY) organized a small September version of the big spring Asia Week New York currently on view. Auction houses get into gear with their Asian sales: Sotheby’s and Christie’s September 14th through 16th; Doyle’s on the 13th. Check out their state-of-the-art e-catalogues.

Chelsea Gallery Fashion Show,
February 2010,
Sally Wu, Designer,
Courtesy of Art For Progress

There are also presentations sponsored by alternative organizations such as Art for Progress. This six-year-old non-profit dedicated to emerging artists often stages events in non-traditional settings featuring not only the visual arts but also fashion and music. Catch their “Fashion Interaction” on September 21st which will showcase young designers such as Sally Wu.

At the Asian exhibitions about town, you will see many depictions of the elephant headed Hindu god Ganesh. This popular deity is a god of good things: success, knowledge, wisdom, and wealth. He’s a perfect god for New York’s fall art season. Go enjoy.

MoMA NOW

Pablo Picasso, The Bull, state VII (Le Taureau),
December 26, 1945, lithograph,

composition 12 x 17 1/2 in. (30.5 x 44.4 cm),
sheet 12 15/16 x 17 1/ in. (32 x 44.4 cm),
The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Visit the Museum of Modern Art now. There are crowds but it is worth the hassle. The Museum is chock full of exciting shows several of which are closing shortly. High on the “must see” list is the Picasso print exhibit, Themes and Variations (till August 30). Drawn from the MoMA’s own holdings, over hundred works of the highest quality illuminate the artist’s unequaled talent in this medium. You will not be bored.

Mark Rothko, Archaic Idol, 1945,
ink and gouache on paper,
21 7/8 x 30 in. (55.6 x 76.2 cm),
The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Also nearing closure is The Modern Myth: Drawing Mythologies in Modern Times (till August 30). These works on paper, also from the Museum’s own collection, explore the idea and visual imagery of myths and mythmaking. The all star cast of artists include Paul Cezanne, Arshile Gorky, Jackson Pollack and Andy Warhol. It's an intriguing and thought provoking show.

Bruce Nauman’s site specific piece Days (till August 23), a recent MoMA acquisition, seems to make sound physical. Experiencing this work becomes a contemplation of time. Nauman created Days for the 2009 Venice Biennale when he represented the United States. Presently set up in the Museum’s special exhibition gallery, it won’t be there for long. When it will be seen again is unknown. So go.

The Young Architects Program 2010 (till August 23) presents the project designs of the five finalists for the MoMA PS 1 temporary summer courtyard installation. The innovative plans of these young teams evoke joyful excitement. Judging from their work, architecture has a bright future.

Henri Matisse, Bathers by a River, March 1909-10,
May-November 1913,and summer 1916-17,
oil on canvas, 102 1/2 x 154 3/16 in. (260 x 392 cm),
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

There is more going on at MoMA. Although the Matisse exhibit, Radical Invention, 1913 -1917 (till October 11) doesn’t end in August, seeing this master’s inventiveness and Picasso’s makes for a stimulating comparison. Who wins? You decide.

Viewing hints: MoMA is open late on Thursdays in August until 8:45 p.m. and may be less crowded as well on Friday afternoons before free MoMA Fridays begin at 4:00 p.m.

TheMuseum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street, Manhattan
Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, 10:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

(open until 8:45 p.m. every Thrusday in August and on September 2 and October 7)
Friday, 10:30 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Closed Tuesday

Meanings Beyond Image and Text: Treasures from the Braginsky Collection

Marriage Contract, Lugo, Italy,
29 September 1841; Border ca. 1775,
parchment, 33.1 x 23.3 in. (84.1 x 59.1 cm),
Braginsky Collection Ketubbah 105

Over 100 rare and unique items are on view in the exhibit, “A Journey through Jewish Worlds: Highlights from the Braginsky Collection of Hebrew Manuscripts and Printed Books” at the Yeshiva University Museum.

The illuminated manuscripts, printed books, marriage contracts, decorated scrolls, liturgical texts and other writings on a variety of subjects come from the Braginsky Collection, one of the most important private collections of this kind in the world. Although René Braginsky has been collecting for the past few decades, this is the first public exhibition devoted exclusively to his collection.

The show is accompanied by an excellent catalogue and Web site, http://www.braginskycollection.com/. The Web site allows viewers to zoom in and out of digital images and texts as well as flip through pages of manuscripts and books or unfurl scrolls. If the object I mention is available online, for easy linkage I have indicated its Web site section and catalogue number.

The works on display cover over six hundred years but the collection is strongest in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries especially the poster-size illustrated Jewish marriage contracts called ketubbot, (ketubbah in the singular). These elaborate contracts which specified dowries along with the names of the bride and groom reflected the wealth and social standing of the families involved. They also protected women in cases of divorce – what the bride came with was documented and was her due should the marriage cease.

These embellished documents incorporated local artistic styles with results that at times mixed Hebrew, pagan, and Christian motifs. For example, an Ottoman crescent moon and star are prominently depicted in a Samaritan Betrothal Contract of 1905 (Braginsky Collection Web site, Marriage Contracts, Catalogue 79); In a ketubbah from Padua, a pagan cupid unites family emblems while two putti make music and two others hold up a crown (Braginsky Collection Web site, Marriage Contracts Catalogue 70); and, a classical personification of charity shows up on seventeenth-century contract from Amsterdam (Braginsky Collection Web site, Marriage Contracts, Catalogue 72).

Of note are the ketubbot that were recycled, a practice apparently limited to Italy. Beautifully decorated contracts were reused by either erasing the earlier inscription and rewriting as in the Paduan Ketubbah (Braginsky Collection Web site, Marriage Contracts, Catalogue 70) or entirely replacing the script area as was done for the marriage contract of 1841 from Lugo, Italy which saved a ca. 1775 Watteau-like border (Braginsky Collection Web site, Marriage Contracts, Catalogue 71). Perhaps the rabbinic sumptuary laws that tried to put a lid on the amount spent on weddings encouraged the purchase of earlier contracts which were probably less expensive than commissioning new ones. Whatever, they are not only aesthetically appealing but also import much history.

Some of the more emotionally moving items include a fifteenth-century handwritten Hebrew Bible (Braginsky Collection Web site, Manuscripts and Printed Books, Catalogue 18) that was begun in Spain in 1491 and completed in Portugal in 1494. The scribe, being forced out of Spain after the Jewish expulsion of 1492, finished his work in a country that also drove the Jews out some three years later. This valued bible was taken to Italy and ultimately to Britain where it was purchased by Braginsky. Next to it, is a fifteenth-century Book of Job with Commentary (Braginsky Collection Web site, Manuscripts and Printed Books, Catalogue 17). It was the third Hebrew book published in Naples and attests to the fairly friendly environment Jews experienced in this city at that time. Moreover, on every page there are sixteenth- or seventeenth-century annotations written in Hebrew and Judeo-Persian. These are fascinating notes on the biblical part of the text.

Miscellany for Life Cycle Events, Italy (possibly Ferrara),
Copied by Leon ben Joshua de Rossi of Cesena,
last third of the 15th century, parchment, 60 leaves,
5.3 x 3.9 in. (13.5 x 10 cm), later quarter-linen binding,
Braginsky Collection 259

Every work in this exhibition significant. There are illustrated Passover haggadot, (haggadah in the singular), which is the text used during the holiday service celebrating the Jews exodus from Egypt. There are miscellaneous books such as an Italian late sixteenth-century Miscellany for Life Cycle Events (Braginsky Collection Web site, Manuscripts and Printed Books, Catalogue 11) which looks at first glance like a medieval book of hours. There are law, prayer and scientific books as well as noteworthy documents like the ones related to the condemnation and burning of Jewish books in sixteenth-century Italy (Braginsky Collection Web site, Manuscripts and Printed Books, Catalogue 1, 16, 3, 23). One glass showcase across an entire gallery wall contains over 2o Esther scrolls along with some of their elaborate cases made of gold, silver, wood and ivory (Braginsky Collection Web site, Esther Scrolls, Catalogue 98, 99, 103, 104). These scrolls were read during the Purim holiday service and since there were no religious prohibitions against decorating Esther scrolls, they were creatively illustrated.

Esther Scroll, India, ca. 1900, parchment, 15 membranes,
2 black columns + 18 text columns, 8 x 276.4 in. (20.2 x 702 cm),
Braginsky Collection Megillah 58

One remarkable Esther scroll from India, c. 1900 (Braginsky Collection Web site, Esther Scrolls, Catalogue 97) shows figures dressed in contemporary and non-western clothes. Men wear fezes, hats associated with the Ottomans, and many females have a bindi, a forehead decoration typically used by Indian women. It is a delightful mix of Indian ornaments and Jewish lore.

The Indian Esther scroll and three other pieces were obtained by Braginsky in the last six months and have never before been available for general viewing. In fact, the recent purchases seen here in New York were not shown in Amsterdam where the exhibit originated. Included in this new group is the earliest known dated decorated Esther Scroll of 1564 from Venice which was written by a woman; a 1668 Circumcision Manual also from Italy which includes the only known representation in Jewish art of Abraham circumcising himself and his son Ishmael; and, a 1755 Diploma for a Jewish Graduate of the University of Padua Medical School. The University of Padua was one of the few European universities that admitted Jews. The Medical School had special diplomas for the Jewish graduates which substituted the phrase, “In the name of God eternal” for the usual “In the name of Christ eternal.”

The Braginsky Collection may not have the breadth and depth of the acclaimed Valmadonna Trust Library of Hebrew books and manuscripts, which was on exhibit at Sotheby’s New York galleries in 2009, but the collection’s quality and merit make it nonpareil.

A Journey through Jewish Worlds:
Highlights from the Braginsky Collection
of Hebrew Manuscripts and Printed Books
Yeshiva University Museum at the Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street, Manhattan
Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday 11 AM - 5 PM
Monday 3:30 - 8 PM
Wednesday 11 AM - 8 PM
Friday 11 AM - 2:30 PM
Through August 1, 2010